Called in to my supplying dealer earlier in the week as one of the rear reading lights was much dimmer than the other. They kindly "fitted me in" there and then, although did say if it was more than a simple case of changing the bulb, I would have to return at a later date and "book it in". Fair enough I thought and settled in to watch the Olympic figure skating in the waiting room.

Quite some time passed (~1 hour) before the service adviser approached me to say that they had changed the bulb and the light was now fixed, but a warning light had appeared on the dashboard He explained that they had applied an update to the car (as per a current Skoda campaign) and that subsequently the car had thrown up the EML. The mechanic then came over to tell me the EML had appeared after flashing the ECU and that he had submitted a query to Skoda technical. He then returned around 30 minutes later and told me Skoda technical didn't have an answer either, although had suggested leaving the battery disconnected for 30 minutes. I enquired what the "campaign" was supposed to fix, but neither the mechanic or service advisor could give me a detailed answer, beyond pre-empting a potential engine problem related to a valve?? The car was then returned to me around 45 minutes later, following a roadtest and from my perspective appears unchanged.

We have now covered just under 800 miles in the Yeti and I'm still impressed :yes: It is a very easy car to drive, with direct steering, a willing engine and a very smooth gearchange. Of particular note is the general quietness in the cabin, even at motorway speeds. This is a vast improvement compared to my old Octavia II (pre FL).

Fuel economy also appears to be improving and now stands at 35 mpg (50% urban / 50% Mway). I've decided to try some super unleaded (Tesco 99 RON) as my previous car (1.8 TSi octavia) was a bit quicker / slightly more economical on it. The petrol flap on the Yeti has the same ambiguous statement as my old octavia - min 95 RON, super unleaded.

The Yeti copes well on the motorway, although you do get the impression you're stretching its capabilities at higher speeds. This is particularly noticeable when trying to regain speed after slowing down. The MFD will be recommending 6th gear, but any appreciable acceleration requires a change to 5th. The upside of this however is quiet cruising at 70 mph (around 2500 rpm). This is a huge improvement over our other car (Nissan Qashqai 1.6) which spins at a relatively high (and noisey) 3400 rpm at 70 mph.

On the downside I've found it impossible to open the rear hatch in freezing weather. This is due to a build up of ice on top of the bumper. This area appears to slope back towards the boot and leads to a thick bead of ice forming, which fouls the hatch and stops it from opening. The Bolero radio is also hugely frustrating, especially after the simplicity of the unit in my old Octavia. Changing from one type of media to other is especially cumbersome, although the multifunction steering wheel controls do offset this somewhat. I have read the solutions regarding SD cards and file structure, but frankly can't see myself going to those lengths, just to improve file access by a few seconds. I will however look at retrofitting MDI or some other method of connecting a memory stick (? Dension etc).

All things considered though I think this car might just be the best Skoda I've owned.

Edited 20 February, 201016 yr by pinkpanther

On the downside I've found it impossible to open the rear hatch in freezing weather. This is due to a build up of ice on top of the bumper. This area appears to slope back towards the boot and leads to a thick bead of ice forming, which fouls the hatch and stops it from opening.

That slot drains perfectly so I suggest you check the drains for crud.

The only time I had that problem was following a snow build up and freezing temperatures. It was quickly cleared using my window scraper.

That slot drains perfectly so I suggest you check the drains for crud.

The only time I had that problem was following a snow build up and freezing temperatures. It was quickly cleared using my window scraper.

thanks for your reply Terfyn.

The slots are indeed clear, as they car was pretty much brand new at the time!

This happended during the very cold weather a few weeks back. The bead of ice formed was so thick that I didn't attempt to chip it away for fear of damaging the paintwork. This is the only car I've noticed this with and assume it would be a major pain in colder climates.

Called in to my supplying dealer earlier in the week as one of the rear reading lights was much dimmer than the other. They kindly "fitted me in" there and then, although did say if it was more than a simple case of changing the bulb, I would have to return at a later date and "book it in". Fair enough I thought and settled in to watch the Olympic figure skating in the waiting room.

Quite some time passed (~1 hour) before the service adviser approached me to say that they had changed the bulb and the light was now fixed, but a warning light had appeared on the dashboard He explained that they had applied an update to the car (as per a current Skoda campaign) and that subsequently the car had thrown up the EML. The mechanic then came over to tell me the EML had appeared after flashing the ECU and that he had submitted a query to Skoda technical. He then returned around 30 minutes later and told me Skoda technical didn't have an answer either, although had suggested leaving the battery disconnected for 30 minutes. I enquired what the "campaign" was supposed to fix, but neither the mechanic or service advisor could give me a detailed answer, beyond pre-empting a potential engine problem related to a valve?? The car was then returned to me around 45 minutes later, following a roadtest and from my perspective appears unchanged.

We have now covered just under 800 miles in the Yeti and I'm still impressed :yes: It is a very easy car to drive, with direct steering, a willing engine and a very smooth gearchange. Of particular note is the general quietness in the cabin, even at motorway speeds. This is a vast improvement compared to my old Octavia II (pre FL).

Fuel economy also appears to be improving and now stands at 35 mpg (50% urban / 50% Mway). I've decided to try some super unleaded (Tesco 99 RON) as my previous car (1.8 TSi octavia) was a bit quicker / slightly more economical on it. The petrol flap on the Yeti has the same ambiguous statement as my old octavia - min 95 RON, super unleaded.

The Yeti copes well on the motorway, although you do get the impression you're stretching its capabilities at higher speeds. This is particularly noticeable when trying to regain speed after slowing down. The MFD will be recommending 6th gear, but any appreciable acceleration requires a change to 5th. The upside of this however is quiet cruising at 70 mph (around 2500 rpm). This is a huge improvement over our other car (Nissan Qashqai 1.6) which spins at a very noisey 3400 rpm at 70 mph.

On the downside I've found it impossible to open the rear hatch in freezing weather. This is due to a build up of ice on top of the bumper. This area appears to slope back towards the boot and leads to a thick bead of ice forming, which fouls the hatch and stops it from opening. The Bolero radio is also hugely frustrating, especially after the simplicity of the system in my old Octavia. Changing from one type of media to other is especially slow, although the multifunctional wheel does offset this somewhat. I have read the solutions regarding SD cards and file structure, but frankly can't see myself going to those lengths just to improve file access by a few seconds. I will however look at retrofitting MDI or some other method of connecting a memory stick (? Dension etc).

All things considered though I think this car might just be the best Skoda I've owned.

hi my 1.2tsi has now done 1300 and is just touching 40 mpg all urban just lately i have not done any long steady driving since i reset av consumption so don't worry yours will improve plus it sounds like yours gets a good mix of urban and motorway runs

wakev